Democratic officials blasted a proposal crafted by state Senate Majority Dominic Pileggi, R-9, of Chester, which would change the way Pennsylvania awards its Electoral College votes Friday.

Pileggi’s bill would change the state from a winner-take-all system to one that awards electoral votes proportionally. Of Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes, 18 would be distributed based on the percentage of the popular vote each candidate wins. The other two votes, representing the states senators, would be given to the candidate who wins the popular vote.

Having earned 52 percent of Pennsylvanians’ votes, President Barack Obama would have won 12 of the state’s 20 electoral votes.

Democratic officials blasted Pileggi during a Pennsylvania Democratic Party conference call with reporters Friday. They called his plan an attempt to rig elections and called on other Republicans to stand up against Pileggi’s proposal.

“We need a few Republicans with a conscience … who are willing to say, ‘I didn’t get into public service to undermine elections,’” said state Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17, of Upper Merion, during a Pennsylvania Democratic Party conference call with reporters Friday.

Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chairman Jim Burn argued Republicans would rather rig the system in order to win in Pennsylvania.

“They can’t find a candidate in their broken-down party,” he said.

Pileggi introduced a different version of this legislation last year. Under the previous plan, candidates would have garnered an electoral vote for each of the state’s 18 congressional districts that they carry; the other two electoral votes would have gone to the winner of the statewide balloting.

Democrats and even some Republicans criticized Pileggi’s previous proposal. It split Republican leaders and died before last April’s primary election. For example, Gov. Tom Corbett backed Pileggi’s first proposal but Republican Party Chairman Rob Gleason questioned it.

Billy Pitman, a spokesman for the Republican Party of Pennsylvania, declined to comment on Pileggi’s new proposal Friday.

“The governor is certainly open to discussion on changing the Electoral College process in Pennsylvania,” said Janet Kelley, deputy director of communications in the governor’s press and communications office, in an email Friday. “However, at this time, our focus is on the important initiatives he discussed during his budget address, such as school safety, pension reform, public education and transportation funding, as well as liquor privatization.’’

Maine and Nebraska each award their electoral votes using a district-based system. The other 48 states use a winner-take-all system.

Virginia and Michigan are among several Republican-controlled states considering adopting a system similar to that employed by Maine and Nebraska. However, Republican support for the proposals has waned and Republican Gov. Bob McConnell previously indicated he’d oppose the plan.

Pileggi circulated a co-sponsorship memo in early December and Erik Arneson, the senator’s communications and policy director, said he intends to introduce the new bill later this month. Arneson indicated it was not at the top of Pileggi’s agenda.

“It has never been something he considered a top priority this year,” said Arneson in an email earlier this week. “He did believe that the issue of how Electoral College votes are allocated in Pennsylvania, and whether the system should be changed, deserved additional debate.

“We’ve seen the debates in other states, but Sen. Pileggi’s focus is on Pennsylvania, which is, of course, the only state he can influence.”

Staff Writer John Kopp and the Associated Press contributed information to this article.